Cuban FM: US ignored UN vote to lift embargo on Cuba 29 times

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Sep 09:48
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The Cuban Foreign Minister emphasized at the UN General Assembly the need for the US to lift the embargo on Cuba as its continued implementation is an infringement on international law as well as the UN charter.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez at UN General Assembly 2022 (UN Photo)

In his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez's decried the 60 years of US economic embargo against Cuba which he described as "vast, cruel and immoral."

Rodriguez explained that “The government of the US is reinforcing pressure on banking institutions, companies, and governments throughout the world that are interested in establishing relations with Cuba and the US continues to obsessively pursue all sources of foreign exchange coming into the country to bring about the economic collapse of the nation.”

The Cuban FM further stressed that “The US offensive is aimed at bending states to their will by means of threats and economic coercion as well as military, political and diplomatic coercion in order to subject them to an order based on their whimsical rules."

Rodriguez recalled, in his speech, that the UNGA had voted 29 times, with an overwhelming majority, to end the "ruthless and unilateral" embargo on Cuba, and that the US ignored the assembly's decision 29 times.

He said that “Thirty years have now elapsed since the first general assembly voted against this blockade, and at this time, the US continues to ignore the almost unanimous demand from you to cease its illegal and brutal policy against Cuba.”

It is worth noting that Rodriguez urged that the US remove the Caribbean island from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Other Latin American presidents, including Argentina's Alberto Fernandez, Honduras' Xiomara Castro, and Bolivia's Luis Arce, have also called for an end to the US blockade, claiming that it infringes on international law and the UN Charter, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has devastated the Cuban economy.